Rapido's Ownly now handles 50,000 food delivery orders daily in Bengaluru. This signals the most concrete challenge yet to the Swiggy-Zomato duopoly's grip on restaurant commissions. Many restaurants, tired of high platform cuts, are actively seeking alternative delivery partners.
How We Got Here
Food delivery dependency has grown significantly; pre-Covid it was 10% of restaurant business, now reaching 50% for some outlets. This increasing reliance, coupled with steep commissions, was highlighted by NRAI President Sagar Daryani in July.
The Numbers
- Ownly offers zero commission to restaurant partners, directly contrasting Swiggy and Zomato's rates.
- Ownly entered Hyderabad last month, already onboarding 10,000 restaurants and aiming for 30,000.
- Swish Go, another new entrant, operates with variable commission rates based on order values above or below ₹100.
- Flipkart's "Eat In" food delivery service is currently in a testing phase within Bengaluru.
- Rapido integrates Ownly into its existing mobility app, leveraging its rider network to reduce operational costs.
What Happens Next
🇮🇳 Why This Matters for India
For cloud kitchen founders in Pune and Hyderabad, these new commission structures could improve already-thin margins by 3-5 percentage points.
The Take
Expect Swiggy and Zomato to pilot loyalty programs or tiered commission structures for top restaurants within the next 90 days. The zero-commission model from Ownly is too direct a threat to ignore for much longer.
Source:
Inc42 ↗